- Requests the Chairman of the summit to form a special committee, to include
interested member States and the Secretary-General of the League, to pursue the
necessary contacts to gain support for this Initiative at all levels and in particu-
lar from the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States of Amer-
ica, the Russian Federation, the Islamic countries and the European Union.
DOCUMENT
The Beirut Declaration
MARCH27–28, 2002We, the Kings, Presidents and Amirs of the Arab States, meeting as the Summit-level
Council of the League of Arab States (fourteenth regular session) in Beirut, capital of
the Lebanese Republic, on 27 and 28 March 2002,
Having examined the grave regional and international developments and their dis-
turbing consequences, the challenges confronting the Arab nation and the threats posed
to Arab national security,
Having conducted a thorough evaluation of these developments and challenges,
and especially those relating to the Arab region and the occupied Palestinian territo-
ries in particular, and of the general war of destruction launched by Israel on the pre-
text of combating terrorism while exploiting the tragic events of September and the
universal condemnation they have merited,
Having discussed the fate of the peace process and Israel’s practices that seek to
destroy it and to plunge the Middle East into anarchy and instability,
Having observed with the greatest pride the Intifadah of the Palestinian people
and its valiant resistance,
Having discussed the Arab initiatives seeking a just and comprehensive peace in
the region and compliance with the United Nations resolutions on the Arab-Israeli
conflict and the question of Palestine,
Invoking the national responsibility and believing in the purposes and principles
of the Pact of the League of Arab States and the Charter of the United Nations,
Declare that we shall undertake the following:
To continue to take action to strengthen Arab solidarity in all fields in order to
safeguard Arab national security and thwart the foreign schemes to diminish Arab ter-
ritorial integrity;
To acclaim with pride and admiration the steadfastness of the Palestinian people
and its valiant Intifadah against the Israeli occupation and Israel’s devastating military
machine, its systematic repression and the massacres it commits, targeting children,
women and the elderly without distinction and without any humanitarian inhibitions;
To stand in veneration and deference before the valiant martyrs of the Intifadah, and
to affirm our constant and manifold support for the Palestinian people in order to sus-
tain its heroic and legitimate struggle against occupation until it achieves its just
ARABS AND ISRAELIS 159